Philly vs. Houston energy hubs, why Yankees are coming to Texas, tops for diversity and STEM, and more

"...Sugar Land, the largest city in Fort Bend County, which Stephen Klineberg, a sociology professor at Rice University, calls the most ethnically diverse county in America. By that, he means that this county southwest of Houston comes closer than any other county in the United States to having an equal division among the nation’s four major ethnic communities — Asian, black, Latino and white residents."

Forbes makes the case for Philly competing with Houston as an energy hub (hat tip to HAIF). From what I'm reading there, it sounds like it could be an energy hub, but it would be a *regional* one, not a national and certainly not a global one like Houston. A big chunk of the U.S. population lives in the northeast, and it probably needs a local energy infrastructure hub. Philly is probably not a bad place for that with a port, affordable land, and a central location in the DC-Boston corridor. Houston is a regional energy infrastructure hub too, but we're also the global hub for headquarters and professionals - and Philly is a far cry from that.

"As economist Tyler Cowen points out in Time magazine, when you adjust incomes for tax rates and cost of living, Texas comes out ahead of California and New York and ranks behind only Virginia and Washington state.

Critics charge that Texas’s growth depends on the oil and gas industries and is weighted toward low-wage jobs. In fact, Texas’s low-tax, light-regulation policies have produced a highly diversified economy that from 2002 to 2011 created nearly a third of the nation’s highest-paying jobs. In those years, its number of upper- and middle-income jobs grew 24 percent.

Liberals like Noah often decry income inequality. But the states with the most unequal incomes and highest poverty levels these days are California and New York. That’s what happens when high taxes and housing costs squeeze out the middle class."

Finally, I'd like to end with a pretty mind-bogglingly impressive time lapse video of Chicago at night. Watch it in full-screen HD for the full effect. Still waiting on someone to step up and do this for Houston...

Monday, November 18, 2013

If I were mayor, Houston planning and opportunity, complete streets downside, Buffalo Bayou history, and more

Some smaller misc items this week after an event announcement: a new preservation group called "Pier and Beam" is launching with a happy hour this Wed evening (11/20) at Mongoose vs. Cobra. If you're interested you can read more at the invite here and register here. Hat tip to Dave.

Q: After 33 years studying it, do you believe Houston's lack of zoning hurts or helps the city?

A: It's kept Houston's marketplace moving, and I think it puts us at an advantage over other cities. I'm not your typical planner. I have seen a warehouse piece of property become a single-family development in just a matter of a year, year and a half. You go to another, zoned city and that takes years to get through the approval processes. The lack of zoning gives us a lot of flexibility as a city to reinvent ourselves fairly quickly, and it allows us the ability to amend our rules fairly quickly to respond to problems. It's part of the energy, part of that can-do spirit that's in Houston.

KUHF asked respondents to finish this statement: "Please tell us what you would do if your were the mayor of Houston, using the sentence as a springboard: If I was the mayor, I would ..." My three answers around the Ike Dike, city branding, and METRO are near the bottom here.

"Our little squabble illustrates the tactics you can expect to see when the bike wars reach you. Cyclist-commuters may number no more than 2% of the adult American population according to a 2002 report by The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, but they are the ones who go to city council meetings. They'll push for the kind of "Complete Streets" policy that our city adopted, one that gives priority to pedestrians and cyclists over cars.

In the abstract, that will sound innocuous, but when the time for implementation arrives, you'll find yourself losing your street parking, street by street, as roads are repaved."

For Ting, Houston still promises “the idea of ‘if you work hard, you’ll reap the benefits.'" ...

He seriously thought about moving to Austin, given its young population, but to him, “the city just feels like a college town.” Next to Austin’s revelry, Houston is the mature, moneyed older brother: “It has the resources and the population I’m going after.”

Speaking of opportunity, there are fresh links to the Opportunity Urbanism report Joel Kotkin and I created at the GHP web site here (scroll down under Independent Research), including my policy framework. Hat tip and thanks to Patrick.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Options to save the Astrodome

Of course I was bitterly disappointed by the defeat of the Astrodome renovation bonds last week, especially given that all of the polls had it passing easily. It looks like those polls created an unwarranted sense of complacency both among campaigners and pro-Astrodome voters who didn't turn out. Based on the outpouring of "don't demolish it!" sentiment over the last week, I'd say the majority clearly support re-purposing it, they just didn't bother to vote (13% turnout!).

Mothball it, minimize maintenance costs, and wait and see if a more compelling option backed by private money comes forward at some point. The high cost of demolition in both dollars and potential regret can be avoided.

Value engineer the Slattery proposal to strip it down to a steel structure over a greenspace park (similar to the Eiffel Tower) at a cost marginally above full demolition ($78 to $98m). Get input from the OTC and Rodeo on how to structure the covered/rain-protected greenspace best for their needs.

Revamp the proposal and try again next year when more voters will turn out for congressional elections and pro-Astrodome forces can mount a more effective campaign.

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Vote to Save the Astrodome! plus a whole lot more...

A lot of smaller misc items this week, but by far the most important one is to VOTE TO SAVE THE ASTRODOME on Tuesday. Even if you're not thrilled with the plan, it saves it from the wreaking ball and preserves future options. I've also heard it's very cost competitive on a sq.ft basis with other convention centers recently built around the country. Watch this excellent 5min video on the history of the dome and the plan and I think you'll be sold (click the bottom right brackets to make it full screen).

About Me

Social Systems Architect and entrepreneur with a genuine love of my hometown. I cover a wide range of topics in this blog - including transportation, transit, economic development, quality-of-life, city identity, and development and land-use regulations - and have published numerous Houston Chronicle op-eds on these topics. I'm a Founding Senior Fellow with the Center for Opportunity Urbanism and co-authored the original study with noted urbanist Joel Kotkin and others, creating a city philosophy around upward social mobility for all citizens as an alternative to the popular smart growth, new urbanism, and creative class movements. I am a native Houstonian, 6th-generation Texan, attended Rice University for my BSEE and MBA, and a former McKinsey consultant and adjunct faculty member with Leadership Houston. I am currently the founder of Coached Schooling, pioneering a transformational new approach for a more effective and engaging 21st-century K-12 education combining the best elements of eLearning, home and traditional schooling. CONTACT EMAIL: tgattis (at) pdq.net - send me an email if you would like to receive these posts via email, or see the Google Groups signup box below.